Operation Paperclip

Nazi Germany suffered a brain drain after World War II.

Project Paperclip, or Operation Paperclip was a U.S. government operation to bring thousands of German military, scientific and intelligence personnel to avoid prosecution for war crimes after the defeat of Nazi Germany. They were then employed as specialists for the United States Government.

Scientists, such as Dr. Wernher von Braun, built the rocket that landed the first American on the moon. Intelligence personnel such as Reinhard Gehlen were entrusted with arming the Banderite organization (OUN) in Ukraine to conduct an armed insurrection against the Soviet Union. Military personnel such a Gen. Adolf Heusinger became NATO chief-of-staff.

Fascist dictators Volodymyr Zelensky and Justin Trudeau applaud a member of the murderous SS Galicia Division in the Canadian parliament, September 24, 2023. The wanted Nazi war criminal was brought to Canada by Operation Paperclip.

Werner von Braun used forced slave laborers from concentration camps during his career in Nazi Germany; thousands perished in the process. Ironically, more forced laborers died in construction of the V-2 rocket that von Braun designed and oversaw its production than were killed in the late London Blitz. Instead of bringing him to trial, the red carpet was rolled out for him and his team in the U.S. and he was showered with medals and honors for his role as the father of the Saturn rocket which landed a man on the moon.

Germany was not only a leader in rocket science, but also in various fields such as chemistry, aviation and medicine. The U.S. and its Allies wanted to exploit these innovations. Numerous patents were confiscated, in particular by Allied Control Council Directive No. 10, which provided for German scientific and technical achievements to be made available to the Allies. Millions of pages of technical documents and patents were transferred from Germany to the U.S. For example, developments in the chemical industry (dyes, plastics, pharmaceuticals) were taken over from companies such as IG Farben. The U.S. also benefited from developments in the aviation industry, e.g. from the German company Focke-Wulf or Messerschmitt.

This transfer of know-how was part of a broader effort to dismantle Germany technologically, while at the same time using its knowledge for the U.S.' own economic development.

References

House, Justin, et al. History of the World. New York: Random House, 1977.